| Abstract: | The distribution of single-strand DNA breaks induced by various N-methyl-N-nitrosourea concentrations in S-phase of the cell cycle has been studied in Djungarian hamster fibroblast culture in the isolated samples of fractions of metaphase chromosomes of varying size. For the first time, a dose-effect relationship between the molecular mass of single-stranded DNA fragments isolated in an alkaline sucrose gradient from small chromosomes and the lack of the effect on DNA in large chromosomes has been established. The phenomenon detected is being discussed in terms of structural heterogeneity of interphase nuclear chromatin, i.e. irregular distribution of eu- and heterochromatin in small and large chromosomes. Another possible explanation is the storage of various damaged chromosome fragments in small chromosomes. The data obtained, apart from their significance for chromatin structure analysis, can serve as an experimental basis for the detection of, otherwise undetectable, postreparative molecular DNA damages. |
